Nineveh (Iraqinews.com) – Five Iraqi civilians were killed while 11 others injured as two bombs exploded near a popular market in Mosul city, a security official was quoted as saying.

Captain Saleh Hassan from Iraqi police told the Kuwaiti Al-Aan newspaper that two explosive charges planted by Islamic State militants went off at al-Maash market in western Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, leaving five civilians killed and 11 others injured.”

Security forces cordoned off the blast site and prevented passers-by from approaching, Hassan pointed out.

Al-Maash market is deemed as the biggest vegetables market in Nineveh province, where merchants from across Iraq sell their vegetables.

Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over 3 million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

According to the latest casualty figures recorded by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 104 Iraqi civilians and policemen were killed and another 177 injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in March.